Aggregate Recycling

Local reserves of natural aggregates in Hampshire are becoming scarce, as are suitable sites for the land-filling of waste. These factors are flagged in the Minerals and Waste Development Framework as compromising the ability of the local construction industry to deliver the development needs of Hampshire in a sustainable manner.

The County Council has therefore been working with the local aggregate, construction and waste industries and other stakeholders through the Material Resources Strategy. This has allowed joint objectives to be set to maximise the tonnage of aggregate recovered from waste, and minimise the tonnage of construction waste confined to land-fill.

Hampshire County Council has taken the lead in specifying the use of recycled aggregates as widely as possible across its own construction activities and promoted their use. Examples of the activities pursued include;

Use of soil stabilisation in lieu of granular material for road foundations

Giving preference to the use of recycled granular materials

Use of recycled aggregates in concrete mixes

Re-use of road planings in cold mix asphalt materials

Finding uses for aggregate recovered from Incinerator Bottom Ash

Recycling of high quality aggregates used for surface dressing operations

Through pursuing these activities with working partners over a period of three years, the Environment Department has managed to increase its use of recycled aggregate and reduce the tonnage of material sent to landfill by in excess of 40,000 tonnes per annum.

Additionally, due to consequential investments made by local companies, we now have in Hampshire and the immediate vicinity;

Routine recycling of spent rail ballast

A number of local companies producing good quality granular materials from skip waste

A number of utility operations effectively recycling their own arisings

A local company undertaking soil stabilisation works

Two producers of washed recycled aggregates suitable for concrete

A plant producing cold mix asphalt materials

A plant routinely recovering aggregate from the ash arising from Hampshire’s three energy from waste plants.

For more information, please contact the Technical Advice Group – 01962 857827